Richard Suchenwirth 2002-09-14: In this weekend fun project, I experimented how to play chess with Tcl.
This version 0.2 supports dynamic resizing
My ambition was not (yet) to code winning strategies, but just to handle the basics - how to administer the board data structure, how to validate a move, etc. The first part is pure-Tcl, no Tk involved. "Everything is a string", so first I designed a string format to represent the state of the chess board: one character per square - "." if empty, else the piece's abbreviation (uppercase for White, lowercase for black):
R(ook=castle) (k)N(ight) B(ishop) Q(ueen) K(ing) P(awn).
Rows are delimited by newlines, squares by blanks. See the chess::reset function for the example of the initial setup. Such strings can be loaded, if you'd like to reproduce chess problems, or the current state of the board can be returned in the same format.
Internally, the board is implemented as an array in caller's scope, one element per square. Squares are named conventionally, A1 being bottom left, H8 top right. Moves are written in the form $from-$to, e.g. A2-A4, and kept in a history list which can be recalled or undone, one move at a time. Taken men are recorded as a suffix to the move, e.g. A2-A4-Q, so they can be reinstated on undo. You can have multiple chess boards in parallel, if you wish, as the API is "object-oriented":
namespace eval chess {set version 0.2 ;# resize on <Configure>} proc chess::new board { # create a new game (generic dispatcher) with the board name proc ::$board {{cmd format} args} \ "uplevel 1 chess::\$cmd $board \$args" uplevel 1 $board reset } proc chess::reset {boardName {setup ""}} { upvar 1 $boardName board if {$setup == ""} {set setup \ "r n b q k b n r p p p p p p p p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P P P P P P P P R N B Q K B N R" } foreach line [split [string trim $setup] \n] y {8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1} { foreach word $line x {A B C D E F G H} { set board($x$y) $word } } set board(toMove) white set board(history) {} ;# start a new history... } proc chess::format boardName { # render current board into a well-readable string upvar 1 $boardName board foreach row {8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1} { foreach column {A B C D E F G H} { append res " " $board($column$row) } append res \n } set res } proc chess::move {boardName move} { upvar 1 $boardName board foreach {from to} [split $move -] break set fromMan $board($from) if {$fromMan == "."} {error "no man to move at $from"} set toMan $board($to) if ![valid? board $move] {error "invalid move for a [manName $fromMan]"} set board($from) . set board($to) $fromMan if {$toMan != "."} {append move -$toMan} ;# taken one lappend board(history) $move set board(toMove) [expr {$board(toMove) == "white"? "black": "white"}] set toMan ;# report possible victim } proc chess::color man {expr {[string is upper $man]? "white" : "black"}} proc chess::valid? {boardName move} { upvar 1 $boardName board foreach {from to} [split $move -] break if {$to==""} {return 0} set fromMan $board($from) if {[color $fromMan] != $board(toMove)} {return 0} set toMan $board($to) if [sameSide $fromMan $toMan] {return 0} foreach {x0 y0} [coords $from] {x1 y1} [coords $to] break set dx [expr {$x1-$x0}] set adx [expr {abs($dx)}] set dy [expr {$y1-$y0}] set ady [expr {abs($dy)}] if {[string tolower $fromMan] != "n" && (!$adx || !$ady || $adx==$ady)} { for {set x $x0; set y $y0} {($x!=$x1 || $y!=$y1)} \ {incr x [sgn $dx]; incr y [sgn $dy]} { if {($x!=$x0 || $y!=$y0) && $board([square $x $y])!="."} { return 0 } ;# planned path is blocked } } switch -- $fromMan { K - k {expr $adx<2 && $ady<2} Q - q {expr $adx==0 || $ady==0 || $adx==$ady} B - b {expr $adx==$ady} N - n {expr ($adx==1 && $ady==2)||($adx==2 && $ady==1)} R - r {expr $adx==0 || $ady==0} P { expr {(($y0==2 && $dy==2) || $dy==1) && (($dx==0 && $toMan==".") || ($adx==1 && $ady==1 && [sameSide p $toMan])) } } p { expr {(($y0==7 && $dy==-2) || $dy==-1) && (($dx==0 && $toMan==".") || ($adx==1 && $ady==1 && [sameSide P $toMan])) } } default {return 0} } } proc chess::validMoves {boardName from} { upvar 1 $boardName board set res {} foreach to [array names board ??] { set move $from-$to if [valid? board $move] { if {$board($to) != "."} {append move -$board($to)} lappend res $move } } lsort $res } proc chess::coords square { # translate square name to numeric coords: C5 -> {3 5} foreach {c y} [split $square ""] break list [lsearch {- A B C D E F G H} $c] $y } proc chess::square {x y} { # translate numeric coords to sq uare name: {3 5} -> C5 return [string map {1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 E 6 F 7 G 8 H} $x]$y } proc chess::undo boardName { upvar 1 $boardName board if ![llength $board(history)] {error "Nothing to undo"} set move [lindex $board(history) end] foreach {from to hit} [split $move -] break set board(history) [lrange $board(history) 0 end-1] set board($from) $board($to) if {$hit==""} {set hit .} set board($to) $hit set board(toMove) [expr {$board(toMove) == "white"? "bl ack": "white"}] } proc chess::sameSide {a b} {regexp {[a-z][a-z]|[A-Z][A-Z]} $a$b]} proc chess::history boardName {uplevel 1 set $boardName\(history)} proc chess::manName man { set table {- k king q queen b bishop n knight r rook p pawn} set i [l search $table [string tolower $man]] lindex $table [incr i] } proc chess::values boardName { # returns the current numeric value of white and black crews upvar 1 $boardName board set white 0; set black 0 foreach square [array names b oard ??] { set man $board($square) switch -regexp -- $man { [A-Z] {set white [expr {$white + [manValue $man]}]} [a-z] {set black [expr {$black + [manValue $man]}]} } } list $white $black } proc chess::manValue man { array set a {k 0 q 9 b 3.2 n 3 r 5 p 1} set a([string tolower $man]) } #----------------------------------------------------------- Tk UI if 0 { Now we create a "real" chess board on a canvas. The shapes of men are extremely simple (maybe good for the visually impaired). Clicking on a man highlights the valid moves in green (possible takes in red) for a second. Only valid moves are accepted, else the man snaps back to where he stood. As bindings execute in global scope, the board array has to be global for the UI. } proc chess::drawBoard {boardName w args} { upvar #0 $boardName board array set opt {-width 300 -colors {bisque tan3} -side white -usefont 0} array set opt $args if {![winfo exists $w]} { canvas $w -width $opt(-width) -height $opt(-width) bind $w <Configure> "chess::drawBoard $boardName $w $args" set board(usefont) $opt(-usefont) $w bind mv <1> [list chess::click1 $boardName $w %x %y] $w bind mv <B1-Motion> { %W move current [expr {%x-$chess::x}] [expr {%y-$chess::y}] set chess::x %x; set chess::y %y } $w bind mv <ButtonRelease-1> "chess::release1 $boardName $w %x %y" } else { $w delete all } set board(side) $opt(-side) set dim [min [winfo height $w] [winfo width $w]] if {$dim<2} {set dim $opt(-width)} set board(sqw) [set sqw [expr {($dim - 20) / 8}]] set x0 15 set x $x0; set y 5; set colorIndex 0 set rows {8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1} set cols {A B C D E F G H} if {$board(side) != "white"} { set rows [lrevert $rows] set cols [lrevert $cols] } foreach row $rows { $w create text 5 [expr {$y+$sqw/2}] -text $row foreach col $cols { $w create rect $x $y [incr x $sqw] [expr $y+$sqw] \ -fill [lindex $opt(-colors) $colorIndex] \ -tag [list square $col$row] set colorIndex [expr {1-$colorIndex}] } set x $x0; incr y $sqw set colorIndex [expr {1-$colorIndex}] } set x [expr {$x0 - $sqw/2}] incr y 8 ;# letters go below chess board foreach col $cols {$w create text [incr x $sqw] $y -text $col} drawSetup $boardName $w set w } proc chess::click1 {boardName w cx cy} { upvar #0 $boardName board variable x $cx y $cy from $w raise current regexp {@(..)} [$w gettags current] -> from foreach move [validMoves board $from] { foreach {- to victim} [split $move -] break set fill [$w itemcget $to -fill] if {$fill != "green" && $fill != "red"} { set newfill [expr {$victim==""? "green" : "red"}] $w itemconfig $to -fill $newfill after 1000 $w itemconfig $to -fill $fill } } } proc chess::release1 {boardName w cx cy} { upvar #0 $boardName board variable from set to "" foreach i [$w find overlap $cx $cy $cx $cy] { set tags [$w gettags $i] if {[lsearch $tags square]>=0} { set to [lindex $tags end] break } } if [valid? board $from-$to] { set victim [move board $from-$to] if {[string tolower $victim]=="k"} {set ::info Checkmate.} $w delete @$to set target $to $w dtag current @$from $w addtag @$to withtag current } else {set target $from} ;# go back on invalid move foreach {x0 y0 x1 y1} [$w bbox $target] break foreach {xm0 ym0 xm1 ym1} [$w bbox current] break set dx [expr {($x0+ $x1-$xm0-$xm1)/2}] set dy [expr {($y0+$y1-$ym0-$ym1)/2}] $w move current $dx $dy } proc chess::drawSetup {boardName w} { upvar #0 $boardName board $w delete mv foreach square [array names board ??] { drawMan $boardName $w $square $board($square) } } proc chess::drawMan {boardName w where what} { if {$what=="."} return upvar #0 $boardName board set fill [expr {[regexp {[A-Z]} $what]? "white": "black"}] if $board(usefont) { set unicode [string map { k \u265a q \u265b r \u265c b \u265d n \u265e p \u265f k K q Q r R b B n N p P } [string tolower $what]] set font [list Helvetica [expr {$board(sqw)/2}] bold] $w create text 0 0 -text $unicode -font $font \ -tag [list mv @$where] -fill $fill } else { $w create poly [manPolygon $what] -fill $fill \ -tag [list mv @$where] -outline gray set f [expr {$board(sqw)*0.035}] $w scale @$where 0 0 $f $f } foreach {x0 y0 x1 y1} [$w bbox $where] break $w move @$where [expr {($x0+$x1)/2}] [expr {($y0+$y1)/2}] } proc chess::manPolygon what { # very simple shapes of the chess men - feel free to improve! switch -- [string tolower $what] { b {list -10 8 -5 5 -9 0 -6 -6 0 -10 6 -6 9 0 5 5 10 8\ 6 10 0 6 -6 10} k {list -8 10 -10 1 -3 -1 -3 -3 -6 -3 -6 -7 -3 -7 -3 -10\ 3 -10 3 -7 6 -7 6 -3 3 -3 3 -1 10 1 8 10} n {list -8 10 -1 -1 -7 0 -10 -4 0 -10 6 -10 10 10} p {list -8 10 -8 7 -5 7 -2 -1 -4 -5 -2 -10 2 -10 4 -5 \ 2 -1 5 7 8 7 8 10} q {list -6 10 -10 -10 -3 0 0 -10 3 0 10 -10 6 10} r {list -10 10 -7 1 -10 0 -10 -10 -5 -10 -5 -6 -3 -6 -3 -10\ 3 -10 3 -6 5 -6 5 -10 10 -10 10 0 7 1 10 10} } } proc chess::flipSides {boardName w} { upvar #0 $boardName board $w delete all set side [expr {$board(side)=="white"? "black": "white"}] $boardName drawBoard $w -side $side } #------------------------------------- some general utilities: proc lrevert list { set res {} set i [llength $list] while {$i} {lappend res [lindex $list [incr i -1]]} set res } proc min args {lindex [lsort -real $args] 0} proc sgn x {expr {$x>0? 1: $x<0? -1: 0}} #------------------------------------------------testing demo: if {[file tail [info script]]==[file tail $argv0]} { chess::new game frame .f label .f.e -width 30 -anchor w -textvar info -relief sunken button .f.u -text Undo -command {game undo; game drawSetup .c} button .f.r -text Reset -command {game reset; game drawSetup .c} button .f.f -text Flip -command {game flipSides .c} eval pack [winfo children .f] -side left -fill both pack .f -fill x -side bottom pack [game drawBoard .c] -fill both -expand 1 trace variable game(toMove) w MoveInfo proc MoveInfo {- - -} { set ::info "$::game(toMove) to move - [chess::values ::game]" } set info "white to move" bind . <3> { set game(usefont) [expr 1-$game(usefont)] event generate .c <Configure> } bind . ? {console show} bind . <Escape> {exec wish $argv0 &; exit} }
KBK - I love it, except for the shapes of the chessmen. Are you aware that the chessmen have Unicode symbols (\u2654-\u265f)?
RS: No, I wasn't - thanks for the hint! I made this configurable (maybe not everybody has a font that supplies these... - Arial Unicode MS, as from Office 2000, seems to have them). Use the -usefont 1 switch on the drawBoard command to get an appearance like on the second screenshot. (The Unicodes I chose use only glyphs of black men, but repaint the white ones - the originals were transparent internally and didn't come out well). You can toggle the two representations with right mouseclick.
MDD: Cool. You could use Tequila to make a simple two-player net version. If you did that, it would be pretty straightforward to add a persistent game DB too.
Lars H: Very nice (IMO even with the crude chessmen). A few of the basic moves are however still missing:
Also, if there was an option to have a visible history list (perhaps as text widget in a separate toplevel window), with a more "chessy" notation (like Ke1-e2 instead of E1-E2, Qd1xg4 instead of D1-G4-p, etc.) then it would look a lot more professional.
JeeBee 2007-06: I used this code as a starting point for chess in my games plugin for aMSN. The source can be found here: http://amsn.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/amsn/trunk/amsn-extras/plugins/games/Chess.tcl?revision=8761&view=markup .
MNO: Are you aware of Scid , a free chess database program written in Tcl/Tk, extended in C++?
MPJ has tweaked the above code so it fits well on a PocketPC. I also figured out how to add online play using TclSOAP and a Web Service listed on http://www.xmethods.net . Check it out at Play Chess With a WebService.
MNO I've recently been working on an internet chess server client, PocketICS, for PocketPC to connect to chessclub.com or freechess.org. It's nearly finished (still have some niggly things to fix such as queening of pawns!) but corrently stuck owing to the problems described on the PocketPC socket/fileevent strangeness page.
Michael Schlenker: Dumping the history as LaTeX file using chess.sty would be nice. Or similar functionality.
MDD: I just noticed that it doesn't support queening of pawns. I should also add that my 5-year-old daughter, who is in the process of learning chess, really likes this app since it highlights both possible moves and potential captures for her.
Can someone update this page so that it is wish-reaper ready?
escargo 2003-11-24: I changed the formatting of the abbreviations and corrected an added space; I used wish-reaper on it and ran it on my Windows XP laptop. I find that the white pieces don't show up all that well on my laptop screen, but other than that it seems to work.